This Was Television On November 25

1948: The first telecast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Already a 24-year-old tradition at the time, the holiday celebration was broadcast nationwide for the first time on this date on NBC. The cavalcade of floats, balloons depicting pop culture characters, and musical performances winding through Manhattan has entertained Americans on Turkey Day ever since, a hallmark of mass culture which continues to draw about 30 million viewers each year. -A.D.